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| Kalopoulos' argument is that phosphorus was also used by ] "magicians" in the early fifth century BC, in a way similar to its supposed use today by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. He also points out the use of the same material by the ancient Greeks for similar purposes. He has not, however, provided any proof that the patriarchate or the believers at the event have used phosphorus-dipped candles. | Kalopoulos' argument is that phosphorus was also used by ] "magicians" in the early fifth century BC, in a way similar to its supposed use today by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. He also points out the use of the same material by the ancient Greeks for similar purposes. He has not, however, provided any proof that the patriarchate or the believers at the event have used phosphorus-dipped candles. | ||
| Another explanation could be a naturally occurring phenomenon such as ]. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a tall building with a metallic steeple, which could attract the fire and channel it inside. The fact that the fire is claimed to appear only on one occasion could be explained by the fact that nobody attempts to observe it on other occasions, although that would imply that it must happen every day (Orthodox Holy Saturday is not on a fixed date). Also, such a phenomenon has never been recorded in any other such place to date. No explanations have ever been offered as to the flashing lights, nor has any proof been offered of any traces of intentional fraud at the Holy Sepulchre. | |||
| == References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 22:33, 31 May 2006
The Holy Fire (Greek 'Αγιο Φως, "Holy Light") is believed by Orthodox Christians to be a miracle that occurs every year at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Holy Saturday, the day preceding Orthodox Easter. It is considered by many to be the longest attested annual miracle in the Christian world. It has only been consecutively documented, however, since 1106, previous mentions being sporadic. The ceremony is broadcast live in Greece, Russia and other Orthodox countries.
The ceremony begins at noon when the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem or another Orthodox Archbishop recites a specific prayer. The congregants will then chant "Lord, have mercy" (Kyrie eleison in Greek) until the Holy Fire descends on a lamp of olive oil held by the patriarch while he is alone in the tomb chamber of Jesus. The patriarch will then reveal himself from the tomb chamber and recite some prayers and light either 33 or 12 candles and distribute them to the congregants.
The fire is also said to spontaneously ignite other lamps and candles around the church. The only claimed video documentation of this "spontaneous ignition" is a handycam recording taken by amateur videographers, which is so jittery that whatever it is recording cannot be clearly distinguished. Pilgrims claim the Holy Fire will not burn their hair, faces, etc. in the first 33 minutes after it is ignited. Before entering the Lord's Tomb, the patriarch is examined by Israeli authorities to prove that he does not carry technical means to light the fire. This investigation used to be carried out by Turkish soldiers.
The Holy Fire is first mentioned in the documents dating from the 4th century. A detailed description of the supposed miracle is contained in the travelogue of the Russian hegumen Daniil who was present at the ceremony in 1106. Daniel mentions a blue incandescence descending from the dome to the edicula where the patriarch awaits the holy fire. Some claim to have witnessed this incandescence in modern times.
During the many centuries of the supposed miracle's history, the holy fire is said not to have descended only on certain occasions, usually when heterodox priests attempted to obtain it. According to the tradition, in 1099, for example, the failure of Crusaders to obtain the fire led to street riots in Jerusalem. It is also claimed that in 1579, the Armenian patriarch prayed day and night in order to obtain the holy fire, but the lightning miraculously struck a column near the entrance and lit a candle held by the Orthodox patriarch standing nearby. Upon entering the temple, the Orthodox Christians would embrace this column, which bears marks and a large crack which they attribute to the lightning-bolt.
In 2005, in the midst of a host of scandals, which would ultimately bring his ouster from the throne, Jerusalem Patriarch Irenaios shocked the public when he berated those who were skeptical concerning the "Holy Fire" miracle as "vermin".
Criticism
Skeptics question these claims, disregarding the videos readily available which clearly demonstrate the fire coming to direct and prolonged contact with hair and skin without harm. They cite observations that at least some pilgrims withstand the fire only for very brief, and perfectly normal periods of time, as could be achieved with any fire; stating that not only do those observed not expose their flesh to the fire for any appreciable period of time, they also frequently switch hands or move through the fire rapidly.
Criticism among skeptics of the phenomenon dates at least to the days of Adamantios Korais. In his treatise "On the Holy Light of Jerusalem", Korais was adamant against what he considered to be religious fraud and theurgy. He referred to the recurring 'miracle' as 'machinations of fraudulent priests' and to the 'unholy' light of Jerusalem as... "a profiteers' miracle".
Criticism is vibrant to this day. In 2001, live on Greek television, on the show of journalist Spyros Karatzaferis, Michael Kalopoulos (an author critical of Christianity) dipped three candles in white phosphorus. The candles spontaneously ignited after approximately 20 minutes, in the same way that the Holy Fire does. White phosphorus is known to self-ignite when in contact with the air.
According to the website of Kalopoulos, "if phosphorus is dissolved in an appropriate organic solvent, self-ignition is delayed, until the solvent has almost completely evaporated. Repeated experiments showed that the ignition can be delayed for half an hour or more, depending on density of the solution and the solvent employed."
Kalopoulos further argues about the availability of such materials in antiquity: "to those that would argue that such materials were unknown in antiquity we refer them to Strabo who distinguishes two kinds of naphtha: 'In Babylon there are two kinds of naphtha springs, a white (colourless, clear) and a black (crude oil) The white naphtha is the one that ignites with fire.' (Strabon Geographica 16.1.15.1-24)"
Kalopoulos' argument is that phosphorus was also used by Chaldean "magicians" in the early fifth century BC, in a way similar to its supposed use today by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem. He also points out the use of the same material by the ancient Greeks for similar purposes. He has not, however, provided any proof that the patriarchate or the believers at the event have used phosphorus-dipped candles.
References
- Auxentios of Photiki, The Paschal Fire in Jerusalem: A Study of the Rite of the Holy Fire in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, 3rd edition, (St John Chrysostom Press, 1999), ISBN 0963469207
External links
- All about the Holy Fire
- The Holy Fire (Greek and English page)
- Holy Fire in Jerusalem 2005 (photogallery)
- Personal website of skeptic Michael Kalopoulos